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We are proud to announce our nomination for the TalkEducation Innovation in Nutrition or Food Award 2023. This award recognises the efforts our fantastic catering team goes to every day to ensure the delicious, nutritious meals that grace our dining tables morning, noon, and night.
Our students' experience is at the heart of everything we do here within the catering department. Be it getting them involved with our hydroponics container, utilising Polly our vintage Peugeot J7 food truck for the entrepreneur group’s project, or enhancing pre match teas so they are full of slow-release high energy foods and nutrients. We constantly try to create curiosity too – this September we have a week of Bushtucker trials ~ think chocolate, cherry and cricket brownies, mealworm chowmein…do you dare to try..?
Hannah Bond, Head of Catering
Read on to learn what we're doing to remain innovative in nutrition and food ...
The Science of Hydroponics
The Lancing College Veg Box is not only a sustainable food-producing outlet but also an innovative addition to our efforts to solely use local produce. The Veg Box uses hydroponics, the science of growing plants without soil by feeding them mineral nutrient salts dissolved in water. Veg grown in our sustainable hydroponic veg box is served on our salad bar in the Dining Hall for all of the Lancing College community to enjoy. Delicious, nutritious, and grown just 50 feet away from the dinner table! This is all part of our effort to be a sustainable school.
Lancing College Farm Produce
Our 70+ acre farm produces a range of foods, from chicken and duck eggs to whole lambs. While our flocks were reduced throughout COVID, our Farm Manager, Jon Hutcheon, and his team are now working towards rebuilding these numbers.
Prioritising Locally Sourced
Locally sourced produce is an essential component of the Lancing College diet. If it's not from our own farm, produce will be sourced from neighbouring farms or local suppliers. One Lancing College tradition is that of a fish supper for Friday lunch. The fish served on Friday lunch would have been swimming in nearby waters no more than 24 hours prior to making their way to the plates of students and staff.
Say Hello to Polly!
Polly is our vintage Peugeot food truck, purchased from a sisterhood of nuns based in a rural French chapel. Despite being a stubborn right-wheel drive that only a handful of our staff can handle, the food truck is making appearances at events throughout the school calendar; make sure to keep an eye out for Polly at an event near you!
Student Food Committee
Run by students, for students, the Lancing College Food Committee works to ensure students feed into the catering plan and tackle important issues such as healthy eating and reducing food waste. Last academic year, each house received a visit from our catering team to gather feedback on what food students wanted to see served in the Dining Hall, an initiative that will continue in Advent Term. Standout favourites include Katsu Curry, Poke Bowls, Ramen, Goat Cheese Salad, Churros, and American Diner-Style Treats.
Update 7 September
We would like to congratulate Ibstock Senior School for being awarded this year's Talk Education Innovation in Nutrition or Food Award. Thank you, again, to Talk Education for the nomination of this prestigious award that not only highlights the wonderful work of our catering team and those at other schools but also further cements nutrition as an essential and key component of school life.